# 65th Anniversary of Will on Tractor Fender by Dying Farmer **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 26, 2013, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/65th-anniversary-of-will-on-tractor-fender-by-dying-farmer/672304 "2013-10-26T13:11:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/65th-anniversary-of-will-on-tractor-fender-by-dying-farmer/672304/1 "2013-10-26T13:11:27Z")
It’s a famous Saskatchewan wills case: a farmer, trapped under a tractor, scratched his will into the fender with a penknife: > [@](#): > > “In case I die in this mess I leave all to the wife. Cecil Geo. Harris.” The will and the penknife were entered as evidence in court, which granted probate. The tractor fender will has apparently been cited many times in probate cases and texts around the world. The last witness to the events is now 80 years old; at 15, he helped to free the trapped farmer, who died a day later in hospital. The University of Saskatchewan is having a 65th anniversary event: [Will carved on tractor by dying Saskatchewan farmer remains legal oddity](http://www.leaderpost.com/Will+carved+tractor+dying+Sask+farmer+remains+legal+oddity/9085851/story.html) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/65th-anniversary-of-will-on-tractor-fender-by-dying-farmer/672304/2 "2013-10-26T15:06:54Z")
That’s pretty amazing. I’m glad it was ruled to be valid, because although the terms, as mentioned in the article, could have been contested, it’s still clear what the farmer meant. Too bad they even had to think about it, but that’s a sign of how involved the legal siystem anywhere has become. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/65th-anniversary-of-will-on-tractor-fender-by-dying-farmer/672304/3 "2013-10-26T15:22:02Z")
What was never brought out in court was that when he referred to “the wife” he wasn’t talking about his own wife… ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/65th-anniversary-of-will-on-tractor-fender-by-dying-farmer/672304/4 "2013-10-26T18:11:24Z")
I had to open this thread just to figure out what the title meant. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/65th-anniversary-of-will-on-tractor-fender-by-dying-farmer/672304/5 "2013-10-26T18:14:51Z")
> [@Moldy Bread](#): > > Too bad they even had to think about it, but that’s a sign of how involved the legal siystem anywhere has become. Bear in mind, if the will was accurate, it disinherited any of his children, who would have been entitled to a share of the estate if there were no will. That’s a fairly significant impact, and the courts have to be sure that was the intent before they allow the estate to be probated. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/65th-anniversary-of-will-on-tractor-fender-by-dying-farmer/672304/6 "2013-10-26T18:20:08Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I had to open this thread just to figure out what the title meant. At last! I’ve found the sure-fire way to get people to read my threads! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/65th-anniversary-of-will-on-tractor-fender-by-dying-farmer/672304/7 "2013-10-26T18:55:26Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > At last! I’ve found the sure-fire way to get people to read my threads! The title may be obvious inretrospect, and even evident if you think about it, but my mind’s immediate reaction was to picture an oil painting of a guy named Will reclining on a Tractor Fender, as painted by an artist inexplicably named Dying Farmer. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/65th-anniversary-of-will-on-tractor-fender-by-dying-farmer/672304/8 "2013-10-26T19:16:33Z")
[ol] [li]Find a rich guy with a tractor[/li][li]Drop tractor on him[/li][li]Write, “I leave everything to 74westy” on fender.[/li][li]Profit!!![/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/65th-anniversary-of-will-on-tractor-fender-by-dying-farmer/672304/9 "2013-10-26T19:43:22Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Bear in mind, if the will was accurate, it disinherited any of his children, who would have been entitled to a share of the estate if there were no will. I don’t think that’s true. I talked to a lawyer once about creating a will and he assured me that if one spouse dies, everything is automatically given to the surviving spouse. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/65th-anniversary-of-will-on-tractor-fender-by-dying-farmer/672304/10 "2013-10-26T19:54:25Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I had to open this thread just to figure out what the title meant. Amusingly, I knew exactly what it meant, but hadn’t realized the case was _that_ old. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/65th-anniversary-of-will-on-tractor-fender-by-dying-farmer/672304/11 "2013-10-26T21:25:30Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I don’t think that’s true. I talked to a lawyer once about creating a will and he assured me that if one spouse dies, everything is automatically given to the surviving spouse. Its jurisdictional. I think that is usually the case, but not always. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/65th-anniversary-of-will-on-tractor-fender-by-dying-farmer/672304/12 "2013-10-26T22:05:53Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The title may be obvious inretrospect, and even evident if you think about it, but my mind’s immediate reaction was to picture an oil painting of a guy named Will reclining on a Tractor Fender, as painted by an artist inexplicably named Dying Farmer. Mine was “There’s a newly-discovered Robert Frost poem and I had to open MPSIMS to learn about it?” ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/65th-anniversary-of-will-on-tractor-fender-by-dying-farmer/672304/13 "2013-10-27T01:32:41Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I don’t think that’s true. I talked to a lawyer once about creating a will and he assured me that if one spouse dies, everything is automatically given to the surviving spouse. It depends entirely on the law of the particular state or province. In Saskatchewan, if the total estate is below a certain amount, the surviving spouse gets it all. Over that amount, and it gets split between the surviving spouse and the children. The threshold for the split isn’t very high. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/65th-anniversary-of-will-on-tractor-fender-by-dying-farmer/672304/14 "2013-10-27T16:38:50Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > It depends entirely on the law of the particular state or province. In Saskatchewan, if the total estate is below a certain amount, the surviving spouse gets it all. Over that amount, and it gets split between the surviving spouse and the children. The threshold for the split isn’t very high. I suggest you track down the size of the man’s estate and what the threshold was 65 years ago. If you can prove the will was moot, I see the future you bathed in all the glory that comes from having an article published in the prestigious _Moose Jaw Legal Ruminator_. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/65th-anniversary-of-will-on-tractor-fender-by-dying-farmer/672304/15 "2013-10-27T18:32:37Z")
Awesome case. American law schools often read some older English cases, but rarely do Canadian cases make the cut. A shame, really. Don’t worry England. We’ll always have _Carbolic Smoke Ball_. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/65th-anniversary-of-will-on-tractor-fender-by-dying-farmer/672304/16 "2013-10-27T21:17:32Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I had to open this thread just to figure out what the title meant. Yeah, I clicked on it just because I was curious about what the title could possibly refer to. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/65th-anniversary-of-will-on-tractor-fender-by-dying-farmer/672304/17 "2013-10-27T21:39:14Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I had to open this thread just to figure out what the title meant. Unmentioned was that said farmer borrowed the tractor from neighbor Stretch, he’d been drinking and the tractor caught on fire. So what we really had here was a _slender lender cinder fender bender tender_. Or not. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/65th-anniversary-of-will-on-tractor-fender-by-dying-farmer/672304/18 "2013-10-28T02:00:41Z")
Cool! I remember reading about that case in my law school Wills and Trusts (aka “Stiffs and Gifts”) course - maybe the only Canadian case I read in three years. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/65th-anniversary-of-will-on-tractor-fender-by-dying-farmer/672304/19 "2013-10-28T02:57:59Z")
I certainly read about the matter in law school, but I had no idea the fender itself was on display. I’ll have to stop by the university the next time I’m in Saskatoon, and see it. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/65th-anniversary-of-will-on-tractor-fender-by-dying-farmer/672304/20 "2013-10-28T12:25:40Z")
I know that in Penna where I grew up, the intestate division was that the spouse got only 1/2 or 1/3 if there were kids. One kid, he got half. Two or more kids got to split 2/3. I don’t know what the Sask law was, but I assume they were both common law jurisdictions. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/65th-anniversary-of-will-on-tractor-fender-by-dying-farmer/672304.md?page=2)